Radiographic chair rotatable about two mutually perpendicular axes

ABSTRACT

The apparatus disclosed includes a patient-supporting chair that is mounted on a shaft for rotation with the shaft as the shaft rotates around its longitudinal axis. The chair can be rotated around a second axis that is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the shaft. This allows the chair to be oriented to rotate with the patient facing toward or away from the direction of rotation to place the patient in positions such as head-up, headdown, brow-up or brow-down. Also, the chair can be oriented with the patient facing generally perpendicular to the direction of rotation of the chair for movement of the patient to positions such as the right and left decubitas positions.

patient-suption with the shaft as the shaft rotates around itslongitudinal axis. The chair can be rotated around a second axis that isJerry L. Horton 3,072,788 1/1963 Oller 2925 Eugene St., Bossier City,La. 71010 3,449,569 6/1969 Oller p Primary Examiner-James W. Lawrence[:2] :iled d June ,5 1971 Assistant Examiner-C. E. Church 5] meme JuneAttorney-Browning, Hyer, Eickenroht & Thompson RADIOGRAPHIC CHAIRROTATABLE ABOUT wo MUTUALLY PERPENDICULAR AXES ABSTRACT: The apparatusdisclosed includes a 5 Chins 9 Drawing 518$ porting chair that ismounted on a shaft for rota Inventor United States Patent thelongitudinal axis of the shaft. This allow oriented to rotate with thepatient facin the direction of rotation to place the as head-up,head-down, brow-up or 86 1 sfinsu /0 Y 54 5 5 2 b/2 5,303 05 5 9 G 6 5 m2 n mm m n m NW6 ""7 u ""3 n ""8 m NW un m mmmo m mm m mm5 "5 m m n m...0 d s m U hr. 1 1 2 0 5 55 l. [l

g generally perpenchair for movement chair can be oriented with thepatient facin dicular to the direction of rotation of the [56]References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 12/1937 Pohl PATENTED JUN] 5 I971SHEET 3 0F 3 RADIOGRAPIIIC CHAIR ROTATABLE ABOUT TWO MUTUALLYPERPENDICULAR AXES This invention relates generally to patientsupporting apparatus and in particular to such apparatus for moving thepatient to a variety of positions.

The apparatus of this invention has utility whenever it is desirable toplace a patient in a variety of positions. This is required, forexample, when performing a pneumoencephalogram to determine the shape ofthe ventricles of the brain. For a pneumoencephalogram, air is injectedinto the patients spinal column usually with the patient in an uprightsitting position. The air rises into the ventricles of the brain,displaces some of the spinal fluid, and forms an air pocket above thelevel of the spinal fluid. By changing the position of the patient, theair pocket can be moved to different parts of the ventricles. The airpocket is readily distinguishable on an X- ray plate. Therefore, bymoving the patient to different positions, the air pocket can be movedfrom the top to the sides and bottom of the ventricles. From X-raypictures taken at each such position, the neurosurgeon can detectabnormalities in the shape of the ventricles. This test is usedprimarily .to locate suspected brain tumors.

For a complete pneumoencephalographic procedure, the patient should beplaced in five positions other than the initial or upright position.Movement into these positions and the taking of the X-ray picturesshould be done as rapidly as possible because the air pocket dissipateswith time. The patient cannot be depended upon to place himself in thedesired positions because quite often he is unconscious or at least in asemiconscious condition. Therefore, if no other facilities areavailable, the patient has to be placed in these positions manually. Toavoid this, a chair was developed that would position the patient insome, but not all of the required positions.

With the chair, the patient can be rotated from an upright position to abrow-down position, a brow-up position, and a head-hanging position. Tocomplete the pneumoencephalogram, however, it is necessary to takeX-rays with the patient laying on his right or left side in what isreferred to as left and right decubitas positions. For these, even withthe chair, the patient had to be removed and lifted bodily, ifunconscious or semiconscious, to a table where X-rays were made from oneside after which the patient was turned over so that X-rays could bemade from the other side. Thus, as to at least the decubitas positions,the same problems existed with the chair as were present when thepatient was manually placed in all of the desired positions.

It is an object of this invention to provide apparatus for movingpatients to a variety of positions including the headdown, brow-up, andbrow-down positions previously possible with the existing apparatus plusthe decubitas positions.

It is a further object of this invention to provide patient-supportingapparatus that can position a patient as required for a completepneumoencephalogram without removing the patient from the supportingapparatus.

It is a further object of this invention to provide patient-supportingapparatus that includes an improved head-holding device to securely holdthe head of the patient from movementrelative to the support while thepatient is moved by the support to a variety of positions.

It is a further object of this invention to provide patient-supportingapparatus that includes a unique holder for X-ray film cassettes thatcan. be quickly and easily positioned to locate X- ray cassettes in thedesired position.

These and other objects, advantages and features of this invention willbe apparent to those skilled in the art from a consideration of thisspecification, including the attached drawings and appended claims.

The preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described indetail by way of example in connection with the attached drawings inwhich,

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of the preferred embodiment of the apparatusof this invention;

FIG. 2 is a bottom isometric view of a portion of the apparatus of FIG.1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 2;

FIGS. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 show six of the possible positions to which apatient can be moved with the apparatus of this invention.

The apparatus includes a support for the patient. In the embodimentshown in FIG. 1 such support is chair 10. The chair has seat 12, back14, arms 15 and 16, and footrest l7. Straps 18 are used to hold thepatient in the chair as the chair is moved to the various positions. I

To hold the patients head from movement relative to the chair,cup-shaped member 20 is supported above chair back 14 by rod 21. The rodslides in sleeve 22 and set screw 23 (FIG. 4) holds rod 21 againstfurther movement when cupshaped member 20 has been located to receivethe back of the patients head, as shown in FIG. 4. Straps 24 extendaround the patients forehead and chin, also as shown in FIG. 4, to holdthe patients head in member 20. Member 20 and straps 24 are made of amaterial that is pervious to X-rays so that these items will notinterfere with the taking of X-ray pictures of the patients head.

Means are provided for supporting and rotating the patient supportaround a first axis. In the embodiment shown, the support for the chairincludes base 26 which is made of U-shaped member 27 and column 28.Preferably, column 28 is extensible and retractable to move thechair upand down. As shown column 28 is a hydraulic cylinder. It includescylinder 28a and rod 28b. Appropriate seals are provided to permithydraulic fluid to be pumped into cylinder 28a and move the cylinderupwardly along the rod. The means for pumping the hydraulic fluid is notshown. Any convenient arrangement for this purpose can be used. U-shapedmember 27 may be equipped with casters 27a so that the chair can bemoved easily.

Supported directly on top of column 28 is power means housing 30.Extending laterally out the power means housing is shaft 32 upon whichchair It) is mounted. Output shaft 32 is rotated around its longitudinalaxis in any convenient manner. The power means for accomplishing thisare located in housing 30 in the embodiment shown. Any desired power canbe used. Hydraulic power or electrical power are two convenient systemsappropriate for this application. Depending upon the speed of the motoremployed, appropriate gear reductions can be placed between the motorand output shaft 32 so that the output shaft speed is within the desiredrange. Preferably, the shaft will be turned relatively slowly. With arelatively low output shaft speed, a worm and gear-type drive mechanismcan be employed between the motor and the output shaft which will allowthe chair to be locked in any desired position simply by stopping therotation of the motor. In other words, the torque imposed on the shaftby the weight of the patient and the chair cannot cause rotation of theworm due to the high gear ratio between the worm and the gear. Brakescan also be used to do this.

In any event with the chair positioned as shown in FIG. 1, the patientis facing either toward or away from the direction of rotation of thechair depending on the direction of rotation of shaft 32. Rotation ofoutput shaft 32 will rotate the patient from the upright position shownin FIG. 4 to any of the positions shown in FIGS. 5, 6, and 7. Generally,these positions are referred to as brow-down, head-hanging, and brow-uppositions, respectively. In the head-hanging position of FIG. 6, column28 has been extended to keep the patients head well above the floor.Also, in FIG. 7 chair 10 is shown rotated from what it is in FIGS. 4, 5,and 6. The patient could be placed in this brow-up position withoutrotating the seat by rotating shaft 32 clockwise as viewed in FIG. 4. Itmay be convenient, however, as for example to keep from moving the X-ray equipment, to rotate the chair to position the head of the patienton the same side for both the brow-up and the browdown positions. Withthe patient support of this invention this can be done as will be fullyexplained below.

In accordance with this invention, means are also provided that mountpatient support on shaft 32 so that it can be rotated around a secondaxis to permit patient support 10 to be oriented so that the patient canbe rotated around the first axis facing in a direction generallyperpendicular to the direction of rotation of the chair. This isrequired to be able to move the patient to the left and right decubitaspositions shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. In the embodiment shown, seat 12 ismounted on shaft 32 as shown in FIG. 3. PLate 36, which is welded toshaft 32, has central cylindrical stud portion 37 and annular flange 38.Bearing cap 39 is attached to the outer end of stud 37 by bolt 40.Bearing cap 39 holds bearings 41 and 42 in place around stud 37.Extending between bearings 41 and 42 is flange 43 of cylindrical member44. This member also has outwardly extending flange 45 which isconnected to seat 12 by a plurality of bolts 46. Recesses are providedin the upper surface of seat 12 to keep the heads of bolts 46 fromextending into cushion 12a. When the seat is in the upright position,the weight of the patient is transferred from seat 12 through flange 43of member 44 to bearing 42 and this bearing supports the seat forrotation around the axis ofstud 37. When the patient is turned upsidedown, as for example in FIG. 6, his weight is supported on bearing 41,which force is transmitted from this bearing to the shaft throughbearing cap 39 and stud 37. In the in-between positions, the load isdistributed between the bearings with the amount taken by each bearingdepending upon the angle the seat makes with the horizontal.

With the patient support 10 so mounted on shaft 32, it can be rotatedaround a second axis relative to the longitudinal axis of shaft 32 sothat the patient can be oriented to face in the direction of rotation orin a direction facing generally perpendicular to the direction ofrotation of the support means. When patient support 10 is in the desiredposition, means are provided to lock it against further rotation aroundthe second axis. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, L-shaped rod 48extends through opening 49 in plate 36 and engages opening 50 in seat12. When thus engaged with opening 50, the rod will hold the seatagainst rotation around the axis of stud 37. Coil spring 51 holds rod 48in the locking position. To change the position of the seat on theshaft, the pin is pulled downwardly compressing spring 51 until itsupper end clears opening 50, then the seat is rotated to the desiredposition and the rod is reengaged with one of the plurality of holes 50provided in seat 12 for each position in which the chair is expected tobe placed.

The patient support of this invention is particularly useful in certainX-ray techniques such as the pneumoencephalogram described above. It isanother feature of this invention to provide a novel cassette holderthat can be quickly and easily positioned in the desired positionrelative to the patients head for X-ray purposes.

In FIG. 1, cassette holder 60 is supported by two L-shaped members 61and 62. One leg 61a of member 61 extends through sleeve 63, which isattached to cassette holder 60. Set screw 64 allows the cassette holderto be moved along leg 61a as desired. Leg 61b of member 61 extends intoleg 62a of L- shaped member 62, which is tubular. Setscrew 65 can bereleased to allow leg 61b to be moved in or out as desired to change theposition of cassette holder 60. Leg 62b of L-shaped member 62 extendsthrough sleeve 66 attached to the side of back 14 of chair 12. Setserews67 hold this leg of member 62 in the desired position. A similar sleeveto 66 is mounted on the other side of back 14 so that cassette holder 60and its supporting members can be shifted from one side of the chair tothe other, as required. For example, in the two positions shown in FIGS.8 and 9, the cassette holder is located on opposite sides of the chair.

Back 14 of chair 12 is shown having opening 70. This opening, whichextend both through the back and cushion 140, provides access to thepatients back, as required in pneumoencephalographic procedures.

From the foregoing description of one embodiment of this invention b wayof example, it will be seen that this invention is one wel adapted toattain all of the ends and ob ects hereinabove set forth, together withother advantages which are obvious and which are inherent to theapparatus and structure.

lclaim:

1. Patient-supporting apparatus for moving patients to a variety ofpositions comprising a base, a chair for supporting a patient includinga seat and a back, and means on the base for supporting and rotating thechair, said means including power means having a cantilevered outputshaft rotatable by the power means around its longitudinal axis andmeans mounting the chair on the cantilevered output shaft for rotationwith the shaft around its longitudinal axis and for rotation around anaxis generally perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the outputshaft whereby the chair can be positioned to orient the patient to facetoward or away from the direction the chair is rotated by the outputshaft or to face generally in the direction of the axis of rotation ofthe output shaft to permit the patient to be moved to a variety ofpositions while supported by the chair.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 further provided with means for holding thechair against rotation around the axis perpendicular to the longitudinalaxis of the shaft when the chair is in the desired position relative tothis axis, said means being releasable to permit the chair to be movedto another position relative to said axis when desired.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 further provided with adjustable cassetteholder means including a cassette holder, a first member pivotallyattached to the cassette holder, a second member pivotally and movablyattached to the first member and to the back of the chair whereby thecassette holder can pivot relative to the first member, the first membercan pivot and move axially relative to the second member, and the secondmember can pivot and move axially relative to the chair all as requiredto place the cassette holder in the desired position relative to apatients head when the patient is sitting in the chair and means forholding each member independently from such pivotal and sliding movementwhen the eassette holder is in the desired position.

4. A patient-supporting chair for moving patients to a variety ofpositions as required for example for a pneumoencephalogram comprising achair having a seat and a back, means supporting the chair and forrotating the chair in a vertical plane around a horizontal axis, a base,and a column on the base for supporting the chair-supporting androtating means, said supporting and rotating means including power meanshaving a cantilevered horizontal output shaft and means mounting theseat of the chair on the cantilevered output shaft adjacent itsunsupported end for rotation around a second axis perpendicular to thehorizontal longitudinal axis of the output shaft to permit the patientto be placed in browup, brow-down, and head-hanging positions and byrotating the chair around said second axis to be placed in the left andright decubitas positions.

5. The chair of claim 4 in which the column is extendable andretractable to permit the height of the chair to be adjusted.

1. Patient-supporting apparatus for moving patients to a variety ofpositions comprising a base, a chair for supporting a patient includinga seat and a back, and means on the base for supporting and rotating thechair, said means including power means having a cantilevered outputshaft rotatable by the power means around its longitudinal axis andmeans mounting the chair on the cantilevered output shaft for rotationwith the shaft around its longitudinal axis and for rotation around anaxis generally perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the outputshaft whereby the chair can be positioned to orient the patient to facetoward or away from the direction the chair is rotated by the outputshaft or to face generally in the direction of the axis of rotation ofthe output shaft to permit the patient to be moved to a variety ofpositions while supported by the chair.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1further provided with means for holding the chair against rotationaround the axis perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the shaft whenthe chair is in the desired position relative to this axis, said meansbeing releasable to permit the chair to be moved to another positionrelative to said axis when desired.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1 furtherprovided with adjustable cassette holder means including a cassetteholder, a first member pivotally attached to the cassette holder, asecond member pivotally and movably attached to the first member and tothe back of the chair whereby the cassette holder can pivot relative tothe first member, the first member can pivot and move axially relativeto the second member, and the second member can pivot and move axiallyrelative to the chair all as required to place the cassette holder inthe desired position relative to a patient''s head when the patient issitting in the chair and means for holding each member independentlyfrom such pivotal and sliding movement when the cassette holder is inthe desired position.
 4. A patient-supporting chair for moving patientsto a variety of positions as required for example for apneumoencephalogram comprising a chair having a seat and a back, meanssupporting the chair and for rotating the chair in a vertical planearound a horizontal axis, a base, and a column on the base forsupporting the chair-supporting and rotating means, said supporting androtating means including power means having a cantilevered horizontaloutput shaft and means mounting the seat of the chair on thecantilevered output shaft adjacent its unsupported end for rotationaround a second axis perpendicular to the horizontal longitudinal axisof the output shaft to permit the patient to be placed in brow-up,brow-down, and head-hanging positions and by rotating the chair aroundsaid second axis to be placed in the left and right decubitas positions.5. The chair of claim 4 in which the column is extendable andretractable to permit the height of the chair to be adjusted.